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Interview with Denise Liebig

What is the story behind "Dear Maude"?

"Dear Maude" is about a college senior, Emily Stanton, who is a sociology major and the recipient of a scholarship that paid for her education. In return, she must give the company that funded the scholarship a four-year commitment to work for them. The only problem is that Emily does not know what her job description will be; in fact, she must commit to the company before being made aware of her role. To make matters worse, her mother offers to repay her scholarship! Emily is torn between her safe life with her mother and the responsibility to her employer. Unfortunately for Emily, this choice is the easy part compared to what life has in store after the decision is made. Emily is tough, though - she should be. She comes from a long-line of strong women headed by her crazy, free-spirited great, great aunt, Maude. A flapper during the 1920s, Maude influences Emily with wise sayings and a lack of judgment that gives Emily something to rely on even after Maude's death - through a journal Emily addresses to Maude. The journal becomes her security blanket, study guide and companion when her new life tries to get the best of her. "Dear Maude" is Emily's story; a strange out-of-college experience that few others could possibly imagine or even endure.

What inspired "Dear Maude"?

Strangely, a silent movie festival sparked my imagination and led to my writing "Dear Maude." After watching several of the movies, I began to wonder about the many things that we now take for granted - including the experience movie-goers must have had during that era. Things such as air conditioned theaters weren't an option at that time. What a hot, miserable experience that must have been during the summer! This didn't put me off, however, instead I thought it would be interesting to be a fly-on-the-wall during that time period, so I researched the many influences of the people from the Gilded Age through the end of the 1920s. I looked at the economics, literature, clothing, architecture and other areas people were concerned with in their daily lives. I prefer reading books with a strong, female character, so I incorporated that with the research I had done and created Emily Stanton - a modern girl with old-world problems.

What can we expect from The Dear Maude Trilogy?

Emily's journey is far from over in "Dear Maude." Her travels and the loves in her life become a bit chaotic at times, but she sees them through, aided by her journal and the woman who inspired it. Although her underlying desire to find normalcy often leads her in the opposite direction, especially when it comes to Dell, Emily is able to retain her sense of humor. I will be releasing the second book in the near future, so keep checking here, as well as my website: http://www.deniseliebig.com and Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/AuthorDeniseLiebig for more updates!

How has Smashwords contributed to your success?

Smashwords has been an amazing platform for my writing. It helped me to "get my feet wet," so-to-speak, and made my dream of publishing my work within reach. Working with them has been a great experience; one that I have recommended to others many times.

Published 2014-10-20.

Smashwords Interviews are created by the profiled author, publisher or reader.

Hiding in history isn’t the thrill Emily imagined—nor is time travel. Her husband, Dell, is injured and may not recover. Then Shane, Dell’s parallel self, arrives. He’s young, hot, and ready to challenge Emily’s feelings. The 1920s roared even louder with Shane around. Can her marriage survive? And will her desire to be just like her late aunt cause Emily to risk everything for the love of Maude?